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WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2024 REGULAR SESSION
Introduced
House Bill 5622
By Delegates Williams, Hansen, and Hamilton
[Introduced February 12, 2024; Referred to the Committee on Health and Human Resources then the Judiciary]
A BILL to amend and reenact §16-5-18 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §17B-2-8 and §17B-2-13 of said code; and to further amend said code by adding thereto a new article, designated §48-25B-101, §48-25B-102, §48-25B-103, §48-25B-104, and §48-25B-105, all relating to gender change in government documents.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
(a) The State Registrar shall establish a new certificate of birth for a person born in West Virginia when he or she the State Registrar receives the following:
(1) A certificate of adoption as provided in section sixteen of this article or a certificate of adoption prepared and filed in accordance with the laws of another state, or a certified copy of the order of adoption, together with the information necessary to identify the original certificate of birth and to establish a new certificate of birth; or
(2) A request that a new certificate be established as prescribed by legislative rule, based upon evidence that:
(A) The person for whom the certificate is sought has been legitimated;
(B) A court of competent jurisdiction has determined the paternity of the person; or
(C) Both parents have acknowledged the paternity of the person; or
(D) The person has undergone a gender change.
(b) A new certificate of birth shall show the actual city, county and date of birth, if known, and shall be substituted for the original certificate of birth on file. The original certificate of birth and the evidence of adoption, legitimation, court determination of paternity, gender change, or affidavit of paternity may not be inspected except for the administration of the system of vital statistics or the Bureau for Child Support Enforcement, or upon order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or, in the case of an affidavit of paternity, the signatories to the affidavit or the adult subject of the affidavit, or as provided by legislative rule or as otherwise provided by state law.
(c) Upon receipt of a report of an amended order of adoption, the State Registrar shall amend the certificate of birth as provided by legislative rule.
(d) Upon receipt of a report or order of annulment of adoption, the State Registrar shall restore the original certificate of birth to its place in the files and the new certificate and evidence may not be inspected except for the administration of the system of vital statistics or Bureau for Child Support Enforcement, or upon order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or as provided by legislative rule or as otherwise provided by state law.
(e) Upon receipt of a written request and a sworn affidavit of paternity signed by both parents of a child born out of wedlock, the State Registrar shall place the name of the father on the certificate of birth and, if the child is under the age of eighteen 18 and at the request of the parents, change the surname of the child in the manner prescribed by legislative rule.
(f) Upon receipt of a written request and a sworn affidavit signed by the individual or the individual's parent or legal guardian indicating the request for a new birth certificate is for the purpose of ensuring the certificate accurately reflects their gender and is not for any fraudulent or other unlawful purpose, the State Registrar shall issue a new certificate with the requested designation of male, female or X.
(f)(g) If no certificate of birth is on file for the person for whom a new certificate of birth is to be established under this section, a delayed certificate of birth must be filed with the State Registrar as provided in §16-5-14 et seq. and §16-5-15 et seq. of this code before a new certificate of birth is established, except that when the date and place of birth and parentage have been established by a court of competent jurisdiction, a delayed certificate is not required.
(g)(h) When a new certificate of birth is established by the State Registrar, all copies of the original certificate of birth in the custody of any other custodian of vital records in this state shall be sealed from inspection or forwarded to the State Registrar, as he or she the individual shall direct.
(h)(i) Upon receipt of the documentation set forth in §16-5-18(a)(1) of this code, the State Registrar shall prepare and register a certificate in this state for a person born in a foreign country who is not a citizen of the United States and who was adopted through a court of competent jurisdiction in this state.
(1) The State Registrar shall establish the certificate upon receipt of:
(A) A certificate of adoption from the court ordering the adoption;
(B) Proof of the date and place of the child's birth; and
(C) A request that the certificate be prepared, from the court, the adopting parents, or the adopted person if he or she has that has attained the age of eighteen 18 years.
(2) The certificate shall be labeled "Certificate of Foreign Birth" and shall show the actual country of birth. The certificate shall include a statement that it is not evidence of United States citizenship for the person for whom it is issued.
(3) After registration of the certificate of birth in the new name of the adopted person, the State Registrar shall seal and file the certificate of adoption, which may not be inspected except for the administration of the system of vital statistics, or upon order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or as provided by legislative rule or as otherwise provided by state law.
(a) The division shall, upon payment of the required fee, issue to every applicant qualifying therefor a driver’s license, which shall indicate the type or general class or classes of vehicle or vehicles the licensee may operate in accordance with this chapter or Chapter 17E of this code, or motorcycle-only license. Each license shall contain a coded number assigned to the licensee, the full legal name, to be displayed in a manner selected by the applicant when supported by appropriate documentation and consistent with federal law, this code, and existing system capabilities of the division, date of birth, residence address, a sex designation of M, F or X as selected by the applicant, a brief description and a color photograph of the licensee, and either a facsimile of the signature of the licensee or a space upon which the signature of the licensee is written with pen and ink immediately upon receipt of the license. No license is valid until it has been so signed by the licensee.
(b) A driver’s license which is valid for operation of a motorcycle shall contain a motorcycle endorsement. A driver’s license which is valid for the operation of a commercial motor vehicle shall be issued in accordance with Chapter 17E of this code.
(c) The division shall use such process or processes in the issuance of licenses that will, insofar as possible, prevent any identity theft, alteration, counterfeiting, duplication, reproduction, forging or modification of, or the superimposition of a photograph on, the license.
(d) The fee for the issuance of a Class E driver’s license is $5 per year for each year the license is valid. The Division of Motor Vehicles may adjust this fee every five years on September 1, based on the U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics most current Consumer Price Index: Provided, That an increase in such fee may not exceed 10 percent of the total fee amount in a single year. The fee for issuance of a Class D driver’s license is $6.25 per year for each year the license is valid. The additional fee for adding a motorcycle endorsement to a driver’s license is $1 per year for each year the license is issued.
(e) The fee for issuance of a motorcycle-only license is $2.50 for each year for which the motorcycle license is valid. The fees for the motorcycle endorsement or motorcycle-only license shall be paid into a special fund in the State Treasury known as the Motorcycle Safety Fund as established in §17B-1D-7 of this code.
(f) The fee for the issuance of either the level one or level two graduated driver’s license as prescribed in §17B-2-3a of this code is $5.
(g) The fee for issuance of a federally compliant driver’s license or identification card for federal use is $10 in addition to any other fee required by this chapter. Any fees collected under the provisions of this subsection shall be deposited into the Motor Vehicle Fees Fund established in accordance with §17A-2-21 of this code.
(h) The division may use an address on the face of the license other than the applicant’s address of residence if:
(1) The applicant has a physical address or location that is not recognized by the post office for the purpose of receiving mail;
(2) The applicant is enrolled in a state address confidentiality program or the alcohol test and lock program;
(3) The applicant’s address is entitled to be suppressed under a state or federal law or suppressed by a court order; or
(4) At the discretion of the commissioner, the applicant’s address may be suppressed to provide security for classes of applicants such as law-enforcement officials, protected witnesses, and members of the state and federal judicial systems.
(i) Notwithstanding any provision in this article to the contrary, a valid military identification card with an expiration date issued by the United States Department of Defense for active duty, reserve, or retired military personnel containing a digitized photo and the holder’s full legal name may be used to establish current full legal name and legal presence. The commissioner may at his or her discretion expand the use of military identification cards for other uses as permitted under this code or federal rule.
(j) The division may accept any document as proof of identity, residency, and lawful presence that is acceptable under the Real ID Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-13, 119 Stat. 302 (May 11, 2005), 49 U.S.C. § 30301 et seq.
(a) Whenever any person after applying for or receiving a driver’s license moves from the address named in the application or in the license issued to the person, or when the name of a licensee is changed by marriage or otherwise, or when the person has changed sex, the person shall within 20 days thereafter notify the division in writing of the old and new addresses or of the former and new names of the change, and of the number of any license then held by the person on the forms prescribed by the division. Notwithstanding the provisions of legislative rule 91 CSR 4, the division may renew or reissue a driver’s license or identification card online in accordance with §17B-2-1 or §17B-2-12a of this code at the request of a person due to a change in the person’s postal address.
(b) Whenever any person, after applying for or receiving a driver’s license, is assigned a new address by the United States postal service or other legally constituted authority, the person shall notify the division in writing of the old and new address and of the number of any license held by the person. The notification of change of address shall be made at least 20 days prior to the final date on which mail with the old address is deliverable by the United States postal service.
(c) The provisions of §17B-5-1 of this code relating to imprisonment do not apply to persons who violate the provisions of this section.
(a) A person desiring legal recognition of a change of gender may apply to the circuit court or family court of the county in which they reside by a verified petition setting forth and affirming the following:
(1) That they have been a bona fide resident of the county for at least six months prior to the filing of the petition or that they are a nonresident of the county who was born in the county and was previously a resident of the county for a period of at least fifteen 15 years;
(2) The appropriate gender designation of the claimant, which shall include "male", "female", or "x";
(3) The legal recognition of gender is not for purposes of avoiding debt or creditors;
(4) The legal recognition of gender sought is not for purposes of avoiding any state or federal law;
(5) The legal recognition of gender sought is not for any purpose of evading detection, identification or arrest by any local, state or federal law-enforcement agency;
(6) The legal recognition of gender sought is not for any improper or illegal purpose;
(7) Whether or not the petitioner desires to protect his or her identity for personal safety reasons; and
(8) That, pursuant to §48-104-3 (b) of this code, if petitioner seeking the legal recognition of gender is registered sex offender pursuant to any state or federal law or is a convicted felon in any jurisdiction, the claimant has notified the appropriate authorities of the petitioner’s intent to change their gender designation.
(b) The petitioner shall provide a sworn affidavit indicating the request for legal recognition of their gender is for the purpose of ensuring their documents and records accurately reflect their gender and is not for any fraudulent or other unlawful purpose.
Any person who believes that petitioner's gender status should not be changed may appear and be heard in opposition to such change.
(a) Upon the receipt of a verified petition and upon a finding by the court that the applicant meets all requirements of this article, and that the change is not desired because of any fraudulent or unlawful intent on the of the petitioner, the court shall order a change of gender. The court may not deny a petition based on the appearance or medical history of the petitioner.
(b) The court shall require proof of notice of the recognition of the petitioner’s gender to any state official with supervision over the petitioner who:
(1) Is required to register with law enforcement pursuant to the provisions of §15-12-1 et seq., of this code during the period that the person is required to register;
(2) Has been convicted of murder pursuant to §61-2-1 of this code for a period of ten 10 years after the person is discharged from imprisonment or is discharged from parole, whichever occurs later.
(3) Has been convicted of violating any provision of §61-8B-1 et seq., of this code for a period of ten 10 years after the person is discharged from imprisonment or is discharged from parole, whichever occurs later.
(a) When such order is made the petitioner shall forthwith cause a certified copy thereof to be filed in the office of the clerk of the county commission of the county where petitioner resides, and such clerk shall record the same in a book to be kept for the purpose. For such recording and indexing the clerk shall be allowed the same fee as for a deed.
(b) The Court shall issue no few than 3 three certified copies of the order to the petitioner for the purposes of changes pursuant to §16-5-15 and §17B-2-13 of this code.
A petition made pursuant to this article may be made and considered jointly with a petition pursuant to §48-25-101 et seq., of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide a process to change state issued birth certificate and other documents upon a gender change.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
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